Drunken thug jailed for assaulting man on Aberdeen’s Union Street

A drunken thug found lying in the street has been jailed after assaulting a Good Samaritan who stopped to see if he was okay.

Lewis Donald, 25, had previously been given supervision and unpaid work over the incident along with other offences, but appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court over breaching those orders.

After failing to turn up for supervision appointments and not completing his hours for unpaid work, his community payback order was revoked and he was sent to jail for nine months.

Fiscal depute Gavin Letford said the complainer and a friend had been out drinking and socialising in the city centre on August 14 2016 and headed home around 11pm.

He said: “They were walking west on Union Street passing Soul when they observed the accused lying on Union Street. The complainer, seeing the accused in this state, went to offer assistance. He approached him and asked if he was okay.”

Mr Letford said Donald, who had been intoxicated, got to his feet and “without saying anything and without provocation struck the complainer to the left side of his head with his hand”.

He added: “The accused thereafter ran away from the complainer and the locus.”

Donald was previously handed a two-year supervision order and 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to assault.

He had also pled guilty to shouting, swearing and making threats of violence on December 14 2017 and acting aggressively towards his partner at the time by shouting, swearing, playing music loudly and throwing a set of speakers on June 6 2017.

Defence agent Liam McAllister said his client had completed 86 hours.

He added: “The order came about at a time when Mr Donald really fell into the throes of alcohol.”

Sheriff Graham Buchanan told Donald, of Grampian Place, Aberdeen: “You were given an opportunity to co-operate with a number of community payback orders which were imposed as a direct alternative to a prison sentence.”

He revoked the orders and sentenced him to nine months behind bars. Sheriff Buchanan also imposed a further two months after Donald pled guilty to breaching a bail order.